St. Paul daily globe., 1887-08-21


| his wet clothes to stick to his body. J..
| In the distance the glaSswOrkS. still
burned, sending up great tongues of fire
| to the sky, across which great spires OF
smoke coursed along with the clouds.
Peter stopped at the first house of the
village. and, kicking at the doors, called
for assistance.
The streets were deserted; many per-
sons had fed that morning after fray
| in which about twenty men had been
| either killed or wounded. Those who
remained had barricaded their doors
| and pretended not to hear.
| The miserable man was bitterly weep
| ing: he seemed to hear the death-rattle
| in the throat of his brother, who was
| still losing a great deal of blood. just
as Peter felt his strength giving way, ,on
turning corner, he saw a gOOd-slZed
building, through the half-Opened door
of which a dim light was streaming
He entered it.
1t was a large unfinished and unfur.
nished school-room, with whitewashed
walls reeking with dampness. All the
killed and wounded in the mornings
fray had been taken there pell NELL.
About twenty human bodies were
stretched out ON pallet of straw. AL
the faces seemed so CHASTITY under the
dim light of the two cOal-Oil lamps thai
it was hard to distinguish the dead from
the dying. 81,
A physician and two Sisters of Charity
were going and coming, dressing the
wounds and reviving the spirits OF the
| wounded with words of comfort.
They hurried to the wounded mar
i brought in by Peter. fixing place fOl
4 him on the straw. AS one of the sisters
i had brought lamp, the childish face OF
EpOOr John seemed livid. His dull eyes
were half closed, and his lips were GOV
cred with bloOd-fecked foam, AZ
The doctor ripped his coat tTand shirt.
exposing his fair, white skint view.
d The shape of his body seemed Sc
youthful, SO delicate, that it was pain
full to see him thus uncovered, gaping
wound in his side.
At first Peter had drawn near, holding
his breath, his eyes wandering from the
wounded man to the doctor, scanning
the latter's face as if he wished to reaC
there, in advance, the decision about t.
be pronounced. But when, by means
of the dim lamplight, the miserable mar
perceived the bruised flesh of his brother
he gave moaning cry and dropped tx
the floor, sobbing in the most heartrend
ing manner. A word from the doctor
nearly craZed him:
1.-The wound in the leg is nothing
said he; "'tis simply fracture; but
the wound in the side is very danger
OuS."
So, perhaps, his brother was going tt
die, and it would be he that had killed
him.
He sprang to his feet, exclaiming
"Tis not true, is it? 1t is not possible
that Il"
He stopped short, terrified. Not thai
he feared being arrested if he betrayed
himself. God knows he cared but little
for that! What he objected to was tC
be taken away, to be separated from his
brother, and that others should be at his
side while he would be far, far away
He smOthered the avOwal that SchOrched
his very lips, SO deepseated was the hor-
rOr with which he looked upon himself,
and when they questioned him he found
courage enough to lie.
He said he had found his brother
lying wounded by the roadside and had
carried him there; that was really all
he knew about it. And as the doctor
looked at him he sat down and hid his
face in his hands, fearing that his crime
would be discovered in his eyes.
John became more quiet. He had not
recovered consciousness, but, as he no
| longer moaned, the dressing of his
wound had doubtless afforded him re-
lief.
The physician and the sisters with
drew, going to other sufferers, leaving
John alone at the side of his brother.
He had seated himself on the straw,
watching the least, movement, catching
the feeblest sigh, awaiting with untold
agony the first symptoms OF returning
| life. III, fo
From time to time he would lean over,
Sclasping his rough hands together as he
had not done for many day, muttering
| fragments of prayer that ne had long
Thought forgotten and, when, words
tfalled him, when, he no longer knew
Iswhat to say, he would eXclaim: 80
brother, brother, say that you forgive
! met' .,.i am.
Since little while John has been
getting restless. He seemed to be try
ing to get up. His features became
contracted, as if he were making strenu-
Gus efforts, and he murmured words the
| meaning of which. his brother vainly
| tried to understand. The frightened
| workman called the doctor, who knit his
wounded man and gently raised him up.
| This afforded slight relief, but soon
| the choking returned.
| The physician shrugged his shoulders
in way that plainly intimated that
| there was no more hope. One of the
| sisters knelt down and prayed in low
tone.
All at once the poor soldier, uttering a
hOarse cry, shuddered cOnvulsively. His
eyes became glazed. He was dead.
Peter felt that he was losing his
senses. He could not believe that all
was over. He lay down at his brothers S
side, drawing nearer and nearer, and
with fixed look and trembling lips he
still murmured mechanically:
''John, say that you forgive men'
Then, as the doctor attempted to
spread a blanket over the body, the
workman stopped him, and, raising
his thead, he said, in voice that had
nothing human in it, "Let him be-.
= \ He is my brother. you know,
and it was who killed him.
''He is delirious," murmured the
sister.
Peter added softly:
Eyes, twas l. You may believe me,
and send for the gen d'armes. Now
| that he is dead | dom mind being taken
away. Go ahead. 1 shall await them
| here"